What are the best of specifications for CARRARA PRO 8.5?

lord Adamlord Adam Posts: 125
edited December 1969 in Carrara Discussion

What are the best parameters to run Carrara pro 8.5 on windows 7 home premium 32bit??
I know that better results of rendering (much more shorter time)gives win 64 bit but many other softwares (printer drives, some games,etc.) dosen't work on that kind of system... I just want to buy a good PC to work with both great softwares: DAZ STUDIO 4.6 and the last update/version of Carrara Pro 8:)
Thanks for any respond!

Comments

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    Most, if not all, 32 bit applications should run perfectly well on a 64 bit Operating System, so I don't know what sort of problems you are having with that?

    The problem with 32 bit is that it can only see 4 GB of RAM, no matter how much you have available, and even Home Premium Win7 64 bit can use 16 GB.

    If I were you, I would go for the 64 bit system without a doubt, and a CPU with plenty of cores. I use an i7 with 4 cores, which gives 8 threads to render with, that is what saves the rendering time, not the bit depth of the OS. The more RAM you have as well is important, but only up to the limit that your OS can handle.

    DAZ Studio also comes in a 64 bit version, which allows for larger scenes to be created too, by using the maximum memory.

  • chickenmanchickenman Posts: 1,202
    edited December 1969

    As stated above the 64 Bit operating system is much beter than the 32 bit due to the memory cap issue of 4 GB.
    From what I know both carrara and Daz Sudio renderer's are CPU based and not GPU based unless you are using plugins for Lux render or Octane render which are capable of utilizing the GPU. As the renderer is utilizing the CPU the more ram you have the faster it will render.
    BE aware of the difference in the way AMD CPU's and Intel I7 CPU's Differ in that AMD CPU's the number of cores advertised is the number there are. This is not the case with Intel chips as they have a technology known as Hyperthreading wich effectivly doubles the number of cores for processing information.
    So if you are not using one of the GPU utilizing render engines but hte default renerer then you do not need a kiler video card but a half descent one for the previews which are typically done with the GPU.

    If you can afford a SSD for primary hard drive that also should speed thigs up as well.

    Everyone will have different opinions but you have to look at budget versus what you will be doing with the machine and what would be nice versus the necessary.

  • TangoAlphaTangoAlpha Posts: 4,584
    edited December 1969

    I would think you'd have to be using a very old printer if it doesn't have 64-bit drivers. Unless it's a specialist printer, I'd seriously consider upgrading it - you can buy printers these days for about the same price as a pack of ink cartridges! - you really are hobbling your system for the sake of the cheapest component.

    it's not just slower rendering on a 32-bit system, that 4GB limit plays a big part too. It means that you will not be able to load or render big or complex scenes, or scenes with more than a few people in them. You'll keep coming back here and saying "I can't do this cos it crashes", and we'll say back "should have got 64bit..."

    I had 32-bit Poser 10, and I can tell you now, buying that was one of the worst things I ever did - it was hopeless with anything but the simplest scene. Genesis? Forget it!

  • cdordonicdordoni Posts: 583
    edited December 1969

    I believe Carrara Pro is not available for 32-bit systems. You will have to use the Standard version until you upgrade to a 64-bit system.

    If you buy Pro, you will still get a download for the 32-bit version, so you could still use Carrara on your 32-bit system and then when you go to 64-bit, you will already have a 64-bit Carrara.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    For 32 bit systems you need to download the 32 bit 8.5 version, but use the pro serial number to unlock the Pro features.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,526
    edited December 1969

    ~snip~ but many other softwares (printer drives, some games,etc.) dosen't work on that kind of system... ~snip~
    Incorrect. Perhaps some ancient DOS games might get you to want to use some sort of DOS emulator or something, but Win 7 64 bit knows all about all of my components before I even plug them in. It just rocks!

    For a computer build, I have some hints in the following articles that may help somewhat. I'm not a computer genius by any stretch, I just wanted to put something out there in layman's terms according to my findings after a bunch of my own dedicated (then) research. The first one details how I decided upon, ordered, and put together my own parts to build my own:
    How to Build a Carrara Workstation
    Buying a Workstation

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,526
    edited December 1969

    chohole said:
    For 32 bit systems you need to download the 32 bit 8.5 version, but use the pro serial number to unlock the Pro features.
    Yes. So if you do have a 32 bit system, install the 32 bit Carrara 8.5 and enter your Carrara 8.5 Pro S/N, and you'll have all of the Pro features.

    Here's the thing:
    If you already have a 32 bit system, don't fret too heavily about upgrading. Carrara can actually run quite well under the lower RAM limits. You just need to practice some good housekeeping on your scenes as you work. This is also necessary with 64 bit with Max RAM as well, so....
    But if you're going to get a new machine, and you want it to be a real render monster for Carrara, go 64 bit with as many cores in the cpu(s) as you can.

    Big key to remember as a first rule of housekeeping in Carrara:
    Edit > Remove Unused Masters > Consolidate Duplicate Shaders
    > Remove Unused Objects
    > Remove Unused Shaders
    When figures are brought into Carrara, we get individual shaders for each material zone, even if the shaders are exactly the same. Consolidate Duplicate Shaders turns all exact shaders into one. This is important on available resources, file size, render calculations, lots of other stuff.

    ================================================================

    Carrara can actually do an amazing amount of 3D bliss on fairly low-end systems, especially if you pay close attention to being as efficient on your scene work and render settings as possible.

  • lord Adamlord Adam Posts: 125
    edited December 1969

    Hello there!
    Thank's for any posts, you gave me a lot of things to think about... well I've got some kind of wishlist so far:

    WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM (or should I buy win 8, which is better for the future 3D modelling?)
    CPU INTEL(R) CORE(TM) i7 with 4 cores (or as many cores in the cpu(s) as my wallet can handle...)
    SYSTEM 64-BIT
    GRAFIC CARD: any sugestions? (it should be a modern PC where I can run the newest games for windows)
    MEMORY (RAM): Max RAM... so how much will be engouh? 8, 16, etc.
    SDD - what does it mean a SDD shortcut??

  • chickenmanchickenman Posts: 1,202
    edited December 1969

    Hello there!
    Thank's for any posts, you gave me a lot of things to think about... well I've got some kind of wishlist so far:

    WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM (or should I buy win 8, which is better for the future 3D modelling?)
    CPU INTEL(R) CORE(TM) i7 with 4 cores (or as many cores in the cpu(s) as my wallet can handle...)
    SYSTEM 64-BIT
    GRAFIC CARD: any sugestions? (it should be a modern PC where I can run the newest games for windows)
    MEMORY (RAM): Max RAM... so how much will be engouh? 8, 16, etc.
    SDD - what does it mean a SDD shortcut??

    You can go with Windows 8.1 in order to future proof your system now if you want.
    On the intel I7 just watch there are some 2 core I7's but there are also 6 Core ones now for a little bit more that the high end quad core.
    I like the AMD Video cards but your choice. I have 2 AMD R7 4 GB cards in a crossfire config for use with the Lux render engine but one card is fine.
    Go with as much RAM as you can afford. I started with 8 GB and saved then added 8 more then saved then added 8 More. Remember the default render engin uses CPU and RAM the more RAM you have the less itime it iss waiting for things to come from or go to the HDD.

    SSD is a Solid State Drive- THe access time on them as there are no moving parts is extremely fast compared to your average 5400 RPM HDD.
    You can go with a 256 GB SSD for the OS Carrara and your Runtime and use the a larger HDD or network or USB drive to store things after they are rendered.

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